Saturday, April 28, 2007

SPRING HAS SPRUNG...tra-la tra-la

"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today; And give us not to think so far away As the uncertain harvest; keep us here All simply in the springing of the year."
(Robert Frost)

FIRST SPRING LOOK INTO THE GARDEN

My rock garden has what started out to be multi-colored achillea millifolium a.k.a. yarrow, but for some unknown reason changed to plain, old pink flowers, in addition to achillea filipendulina a.k.a. fern leaf yarrow (yellow), bergenia cordifolia a.k.a. pig squeak, which really doesn't belong in a rock garden but I like it there because of its early-blooming pink flowers and the leaves that start out green and slowly turn pink-ish as the summer wanes, I think - not sure yet - I lost the campanula lactiflora, which had such pretty lavender-colored flowers. On the side of the rock garden that is in the shade there is hosta rectifolia that I'm using as an anchor between the rocks.

"The Amen of nature is always a flower."
(Oliver Wendell Holmes)

There is a lot of sedum planted in various areas of the rock garden when we first bought the house that I have divided over the years. One thing about this species is that it never lets you down and returns year after year. There are also (very) mature evergreen miniatures that really should be removed and replaced since they're in that not-alive-but-not-dead-either netherland state of being. I'm a very sentimental gardener.In the back flower bed against a fence I'm growing beds of rudbeckia that have taken over a large area but their pretty yellow heads with brown centres blowing in the breeze are just so...happy-looking.

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."
(Margaret Atwood)

Way in the back hidden under the bough of a fir tree that my next door neighbor agrees not to trim, a white and pink gypsophila plant is growing relatively well, with some years better than others. The anemone are also flourishing and although this is a strong flower that has a tendency to take over the garden, it doesn't transplant well. On the shady side of my house I had a beautiful bed of pink dianthus flourishing there for years but for some bizarre reason, which I can't fathom for the life of me (I'm so dramatic!), they up and died, each and every one. The blue-colored Forget-me-nots will bloom in the middle of May and there is something so lovable - at least for me, anyway - about these blooms. Guess it has to do with their name.

In addition to my Iris bed on the sunny side of the house, I also have a scattering of purple coneflowers sort of hiding between the iris leaves. The effect is nice, though. Then of course we have the hollyhocks, that are supposed to be a biennial but return every year since they self-seed.

There are more but I can't remember their names right now but I'll check later on the garden sites. I mainly use two gardening books that I bought on sale at a local book outlet: "An Illustrated Guide to Garden Flowers" and "Popular Flowering Plants." Thing is that while I love the beautiful photographs, many of the species would croak in my growing zone so I really should be buying books that are specifically geared towards Canadian growing zones. One of my best gardening books...actually a soft-covered book was picked up for $1.50 at a second-hand store. Very, very basic but all-inclusive so gardeners don't have to pay a lot of money to get good advice.


Sunday, April 08, 2007

A GARDENING STATE OF MIND: FAVORITE GARDENING SITES

Glancing out of my window at light snow falling, it certainly doesn't resemble anything Spring like and definitely doesn't send one into a gardening state of mind. Be that as it may it won't be long before gardeners will be tilling the earth, seeding and all the other steps that they hope will result in a successful growing season.

When it comes to gardening everyone - at least most gardeners - have a favorite site to which they return for information. These are the sites that offer the basic "how-to's" or ABC's of getting things to grow and more importantly, to live and hopefully, thrive.

Achieving a successful garden depends on the garden's geographical location and using species that are natural to that particular area. Other factors involved are the length of the growing season, the amount of sun, rain fall, etc. Here are some of my favorites:

Icangarden
http://www.icangarden.com/- a Canadian site, it contains a wealth of information about all aspects of gardening with information suited for all areas of the U.S. and Canada. Helpful articles, live chat with experts, Kidz Korner, Gardening Communities...more

GardenWeb http://www.gardenweb.com/ - "The Internet's Garden and Home Community". Resources including a botany base, forums, photo galleries

National Gardening Association
http://www.garden.org/home - "The National Gardening Association (NGA), founded in 1973, is a nonprofit leader in plant-based education."
Site contains plant finder, weed library, pest control, etc. Over-all excellent resource

Cornell University Gardening Resources
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/
Anything and everything(!) related to gardening and growing


If you're reading this then chances are you're a gardener. Share your (non-commercial) favorite sites with others so we all can become better growers!

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

SCHEFFLERA UPDATE - IT'S ALIVE

Well...the news is good - so far. My schefflera is still alive.

It's been approximately two weeks since it joined a couple of other plant oldies and its i.e. the plant, is holding its own. On one occasion there appeared to be small white-ish webs on the underside of the leaves so rather than use the "bad" spritz-spritz-kill-those-bugs stuff, I washed the entire plant with tap water. Of course it could have been just plain dust bunnies and not spider mite webs, but we plant owners can't and shouldn't take chances.

I'm still lonely for the dearly departed fern and am contemplating buying another fern-type. Fern's premature death could have been as a result of plant/owner anxiety separation and now that I'm home, at least this reason/cause can be eliminated.

As for the schefflera while it's still alive, its just...there. No new leaves and no signs of anything, actually. I've moved it around the room in the hope of seeing some new sprouting but that hasn't worked.

Maybe it requires vitamins. I shall now focus upon getting the plant to bud.


To be continued...